Instruments
Saxophone
A saxophone is a reed instrument with a cone-shaped metal body; keys covering holes along the body's length alter the tone the instrument produces. The Belgian/French instrument maker Adolphe Sax, who worked on the instrument in the early 1840s and patented it in 1846, originally devised a family of fourteen saxophones of different ranges and shapes; four of them--soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone--are in common use today. The alto saxophone and its larger counterparts are generally shaped like an uneven letter U, enabling the player to quickly reach the keys for the lowest notes and to play arpeggiated chords covering a large range. The saxophone has been an instrument of only moderate importance in classical music, but its comparative ease of playing (its large reed is not overly temperamental and its fingering system is convenient and intuitive) quickly earned it a place in the marching band, where it has remained ever since. From there the saxophone passed into jazz, and as saxophones gained importance in jazz ensembles around 1930, the alto and tenor instruments became among the music's most characteristic solo instruments. The saxophone's considerable volume and somewhat percussive attack made it more suitable than other wind instruments for the requirements of rhythm and blues and early rock and roll.
Artist Highlights
| Artist |
Active |
Styles |
| Boots Randolph
|
1940s - 2000s |
Instrumental Rock, Nashville Sound/Countrypolitan, Country-Pop, Instrumental Country |
| Graham Bond
|
1960s - 1970s |
Blues-Rock, British Blues, British Invasion, Regional Blues |
| Mark Douthit
|
2000s |
Gospel |
| Sam Levine
|
1970s - 2020s |
Instrumental Pop, Smooth Jazz, New Orleans Jazz Revival |
| Louis Jordan
|
1930s - 1970s |
East Coast Blues, Jump Blues, Regional Blues, Swing, Urban Blues, Early R&B |
| Junior Walker
|
1940s - 1990s |
Motown, Soul, Pop-Soul, Rock & Roll |
| Barbara Thompson
|
1960s - 2000s |
Fusion, Show/Musical, Avant-Garde Jazz, Jazz Instrument, Saxophone Jazz, Post-Bop |
| Nik Turner
|
1960s - 2020s |
Alternative/Indie Rock, Experimental Rock, Space Rock, Art Rock |
| Mel Collins
|
1960s - 2000s |
Art Rock, Early R&B, Soul |
| Mick Karn
|
1970s - 2010s |
Fusion, Alternative/Indie Rock, Experimental Rock |
| A.C. Reed
|
1960s - 1990s |
Modern Electric Chicago Blues, Regional Blues, Soul-Blues, Electric Chicago Blues |
| Dan Higgins
|
2000s |
Film Score, Vocal Music |
| Ace Cannon
|
1950s - 2010s |
Country-Pop, Memphis Soul, Nashville Sound/Countrypolitan, Rock & Roll, Early R&B, Soul |
| Tom Saviano
|
1990s - 2000s |
Crossover Jazz, Symphony, Jazz Instrument, Saxophone Jazz |
| Manu Dibango
|
1960s - 2020s |
African Jazz, African Traditions, Global Jazz, Makossa, Worldbeat, Afro-Pop |
| Andy Hamilton
|
1990s |
Bop |
| Clarence Clemons
|
1960s - 2010s |
Contemporary Pop/Rock, Rock & Roll |
| Eddie Shaw
|
1960s - 2010s |
Electric Chicago Blues, Regional Blues, Modern Electric Chicago Blues, Soul-Blues |
| Randall Bramblett
|
1970s - 2020s |
Southern Rock, Singer/Songwriter, Country-Rock, Jazz-Rock, Blues-Rock |